Rs 10,000 cr scam in Water Resources dept

Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Nov 18 – The All Assam Shramik Krishak Kalyan Parishad today alleged that the State Water Resources Department is involved in a scam worth more than Rs 10,000 crore.

Alleging that the government and the department concerned has not successfully implemented the schemes meant for solving the flood problem in the State, the Parishad today claimed that the documents it has obtained through RTI prove that nearly 70 per cent of the amount meant for flood control and other works related to water resource development has been siphoned off by the minister, officers and employees of the Department of Water Resource.

The Parishad asked the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to order a CBI probe into the matter.

“Only 30 per cent of the work has been completed in different districts of the State and the money allotted for rest of the 70 per cent work has been pocketed by the corrupt officials of the department,” said Baleswar Rongpi, vice president of the Parishad, while addressing a press meet today.

In the name of building embankments, porcupines, flood control and controlling erosion, more than Rs 10,662 crore has been allotted to the department concerned from 2001 to 2010, said the Parishad members.

“Through RTI, we came to know about the expenditure of the department concerned. But when the Parishad members visited the places for verification, we found that at most of the places, only 30 per cent of the total work has been completed,” Rongpi added.

As per the RTI documents presented by the Parishad, in Dhemaji district, 1,100 crore 35 lakh 40 thousand has been allotted since 2001 to the said department. In Musalpur division of Baksa more than Rs 383 crore have been allotted, in Dibrugarh more than Rs 54 crore, in Kamrup (Metro) Rs 42 crore, in Nagaon Rs 139 crore, in Kokrajhar more than Rs 206 crore, in Morigaon Rs 225 crore, in Chirang Rs 677 crore, in Kamrup Rs 150 crore, in Majuli more than Rs 743 crore, in Goalpara more than Rs 13 crore, in Dhakuakhana Rs 202 crore, and in Jorhat district more than Rs 171 crore has been allotted to the department.

“On one side people of Assam are facing the devastating flood every year and on the other, the minister and officials of the department are busy in making money instead of taking the measures to control flood and erosion,” he mentioned.

If the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is not involved in the scam, he should immediately order CBI probe into the matter, the Parishad demanded.